Agency to keep tabs on illegal buildings in Pune

PUNE: The Pune Metropolitan Regional Development Authority will soon appoint a private agency to keep a watch on illegal constructions in the region.

The agency will not only identify unauthorised constructions but also take up demolition work after getting a clearance from the authority.

The agency will have its own machinery and a team to conduct inspections and demolition drives. It is the first such attempt to appoint a private task force to look into construction activities, sources in the real estate sector said.

A senior PMRDA official said, "The appointment will help deal with two vital issues. First, there will be a separate task force, hence we will address the issue of manpower shortage. Second, the task force will be equipped with its own machinery allowing it to carry out demolition drives without any constraints. We expect the system to work more effectively and fetch better results."

The PMRDA will provide basic guidelines to the private agency. It will conduct regular checks and will refer the cases of unauthorised constructions to officials of the PMRDA who, in turn, will carry out checks and direct the agency to initiate further action.

The PMRDA has already initiated a tender process to finalize the agency. A pre-bid meeting was held recently. Authorities expect the tendering process to be completed in the next one month.

A couple of years back, the district administration had identified as many as 70,000 illegal constructions in the region. In several cases, the builders had not submitted relevant documents for permission. In a recent case in Mundhwa, a housing society, Belleza Blue, was found to have three illegal floors in three of its buildings.